Timelines and To-Do Lists

September 9, 2012

At Paper Nautilus, it goes without saying that we love writing. We get very excited about all of the work we receive and being able to share it with all of you once the annual issue is complete. This year, we’ll be publishing our very first in what we hope to be a yearly chapbook contest winner (which, just so you know, we are VERY close to announcing the winner, so expect that update in the near future).

Another way we love writing is by trying to help student writers improve their skills. Now that school is back in session, it cuts into our time to read submissions. Joey Gould, our Assistant Poetry Editor, is a an excellent writing tutor at Framingham State University, and will have less time to review your poems now that he’s busy reviewing student essays. However, one change that we weren’t anticipating was that I would be teaching a section of English Composition through a special arrangement at the university where I’m finishing the last of my MFA. While I’m beyond thankful for this opportunity to help new writers develop skills that will help them throughout college and their professional lives, it’s a fairly intense time commitment that I did not factor into to the Paper Nautilus schedule.

Not to worry – we’re not closing the magazine; we’re not even closing submissions! We’re just coming forward and letting you know that there are going to be some delays. We’ve been getting some emails about the status of submissions, and we don’t want anyone getting nervous. We read chronologically, so if you submitted a few months ago, we may just be trying to decide if it’s a good fit. If you just recently submitted, or are planning to submit soon for the 2013 issue, just know that it may be a while before we can get to it. We always accept simultaneous submissions, so if someone else snatches it up before we get to your work, that’s our loss. We don’t like losing out on excellent work, but we also don’t want to hold your writing hostage while it’s under consideration with us.

So here’s a bit of a rough timeline on what to expect for the next few months:

* First priority will be to announce the chapbook winner and make sure everyone who participated in the contest finds out the results. You trusted us with your manuscripts AND your entry fee, so we want to address your entries first – there’s nothing more unsettling than paying to enter a new contest and then getting a lot of silence from the press that sponsored it. Many thanks to those who entered and made this contest a huge success. Again, we expect to make this announcement officially within the next two weeks or so.

* Read through and decide on what will be in the 2012 issue. This will include all submissions we received prior to September 1st. This make take us longer than it typically does, so please be patient. If you’re at all concerned, please email us at paper.nautilus@mail.com

* Get the 2012 issue ready for print. While we try to have the issue released annually in the fall, the 2012 issue may not be shipped out to contributors until just before the December holidays. We’re aiming for earlier if we can!

* Have the winning chapbook printed and sent to the winner. And lots of other related excitement, potentially including interviews and reviews and promotions and whatever other ideas we come up with.

OK, I think that about covers it, folks. Please don’t be shy about contacting us if you have any questions – it’s about 2 a.m., so I’m sure I’m forgetting something.